Steve Leonard
This is the article about the character; for the movie character , see Steve Leonard (Movie) Steve Leonard (better known as Steve Leopard) is the main antagonist of The Saga of Darren Shan series. The Saga of Darren Shan Cirque Du Freak When Steve attends the Cirque du Freak with Darren, he recognizes Larten Crepsley as a vampire from one of his vampire books. After the show, Steve begs Crepsley to turn him into a vampire and take him on as his assistant. Crepsley initially agrees, but changes his mind after tasting his blood, which he accuses of being evil. When Steve is poisoned as a result of Darren stealing Crepsley's spider Madame Octa, Darren agrees to become a half-vampire and Crepsley's assistant in exchange for the cure. Following Steve's recovery Darren fakes his death, but Steve is unconvinced that his friend is really dead. After he is exhumed, Darren is attacked by Steve who accuses him of conspiring with Crepsley against him. In the end, Steve cannot bring himself to kill his friend, but swears to become the world's greatest vampire hunter and return to kill both Darren and Larten Crepsley in the future. Before it, though, he was obsessed with vampires and collected stakes. The Vampire Prince The Coffin of Fire was a magical coffin that when closed, would burst into flames but only harming the one inside. Whoever survived the flames would be the Lord of the Vampaneze. Steve was that one. Steve was chosen to enter the coffin by Gannen Harst, brother of Vancha March. Allies of the Night The Hunters run into him in the city of Crepsley's childhood, where a group of Vampeneze are openly killing humans, just as Murlough was in the third book Tunnels of Blood. Although Darren, Harkat and Vancha trust Steve, Crepsley remains suspicious of him throughout the majority of the book. It is believed that Steve's actions are benevolent up until the climax of the book, when the vampires are ambushed by the vampaneze in the tunnel, where Steve takes Debbie hostage and reveals he is a half-vampaneze, having manipulated the Hunters the whole time. In the following battle, Debbie is taken by the vampaneze, but the Hunters manage to take Steve hostage. Killers of the Dawn Steve remains hostage of the Vampires briefly, but helps ensnare the Hunters into another trap, this time having them cornered and arrested by human police, who have been led to believe the hunters are the killers. He is knocked out before the Hunters are taken into custody, and is placed in a hospital. However, while Darren is questioned by police, he overhears police saying that Steve has escaped, killing several innocents along the way. Steve is not seen again until the end of the story, where he is with the vampaneze in the Cavern. Crepsley agrees to engage him, Gannen Harst and the apparent Lord of the Vampaneze in battle above a pit of flaming stakes. As the Vampaneze Lord is believed to be dead, the Hunters believe the War of the Scars to be over, until the final stages of the book where Steve reveals the truth to Darren: that he himself is in fact the true Lord of the Vampaneze, the half-vampaneze who was disguised as a servant in Hunters of the Dusk and potentially the Lord of the Shadows. Steve leaves with his fellow vampaneze, with Gannen Harst knocking Darren out before he can alert his allies. Lord of the Shadows Steve returns again with R.V., Gannen Harst, Morgan James and a new assistant, Darius, who is revealed to be his son. In the closing stages of the book, Evra's son Shancus is taken hostage by the vampaneze and taken to the stage area which was the former theatre of the Cirque du Freak. Steve appears at the theatre, where the Hunters arrive with Steve's son Darius as their hostage. Steve initially agrees to swap Shancus for Darius, but before the swap is made, he snaps Shancus' neck, killing him. In revenge, Darren prepares to kill Darius, only to learn from Steve that Darius is not just his son, but Darren's nephew through his sister Annie. Sons of Destiny it is revealed that during Darren's absence, Steve returned to Darren's hometown after leaving, and befriended Annie Shan, and started a romantic relationship with her, impregnating her with Darius, before revealing to Annie that he has no love for her and leaving Annie with the baby. Several years later Steve secretly met with Darius and converted him into a half-vampaneze, brainwashing him with propaganda. However, he lied to Darius, telling him that vampaneeze do not kill. After Darren performs the dangerous process of reblooding Darius as half-vampire, Darren and Vancha find Steve and the vampaneze at the Cirque du Freak, where they engage Steve and Gannen in battle. Vancha is wounded during the battle by Gannen and unable to fight any longer. Shortly afterward, Gannen is knocked unconscious, leaving Steve and Darren alone to fight. At the end of the long, vicious battle, Steve gains the upper hand when Darren suffers the after-effects of the reblooding, but his gloating leaves Darren with the chance to strike a fatal wound to Steve's heart. Steve lay there, paralyzed with shock, when Desmond Tiny showed up. Mr. Tiny, who watched the final duel, reveals that he fathered both Darren and Steve. Steve begged Mr. Tiny to take him as a son, since Mr. Tiny chose the winner, Darren, to be at his side. Evanna was present at this time and was as shocked as anyone else. Her brother Mr. Tall, had died earlier that day, and was shocked to find out she had two more brothers. Mr. Tiny disowned Steve at that moment and left him to die. Desmond Tiny states he made them so that the winner of their battle could bring destruction to the human race as the Lord of the Shadows. As Steve lies dying and despairing over his cruel manipulation, Darren takes advantage of Steve's belief Darren made a deal with Mr. Crepsley to take Steve's "rightful place" as a half-vampire, goading Steve into stabbing him again. Darren then drags Steve into the river by which they fought, and both succumb to their injuries and drown. When Darren is rescued from the Lake of Souls many centuries later in a possible future, after humanity has disappeared from Earth to be replaced by dragons, Evanna reveals that Steve's spirit is also trapped in the Lake of Souls. Evanna states that she has no intention of saving Steve, as Steve chose to do evil in his life, whereas Darren was merely manipulated as part of Desmond Tiny's plans. Trivia *He had 62 books about Vampires and had seen at least 50 movies about Vampires. **His favourite Vampire movie was "'Salem's Lot". *He once squirted ketchup on his mom's bed and left a plastic bat in the 'blood'. *He liked to drink his own blood when he was human. *In a Blu-Ray deleted scene, Steve reveals that his mother's first name is Brenda. Appearances Books * * * * * * Short Stories * "An Essay on Vampires by Steve Leonard" * "Annie's Diary" * "Shanta Clause" Movies *Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant Category:Vampaneze Category:Deceased Characters Category:Cirque Du Freak Characters Category:Cirque du Freak (film) characters